Chapter Text
It was a dumb idea. It had sounded good when he’d told Nathalie but seeing her lying there on the ground made him realize that maybe he was a bigger idiot than he’d thought he was.
“Nooroo, dark wings fall,” he said.
He knelt down next to her. The spot on her neck where Memory had hit her was still red. He put an arm underneath her shoulders and raised her up so she was leaning against him. He held her steady with one hand and patted her cheek with the other.
“Nathalie. Nathalie wake up,” he said. He didn’t know what exactly to expect. They’d only made that thing as an experiment, to see if they could akumatize an amok. How was he supposed to expect it to turn on them immediately?
Her eyes cracked open.
Gabriel sighed with relief. “Good. You’re awake.”
She jerked away from him, her eyes wide. She crawled away from him, her eyes never leaving his body.
“Nathalie?” he asked, confused.
“Who are you?”
******
He’d managed to calm her eventually and take her to the atelier after making her promise to keep the room a secret. She looked around the room, taking everything in. Eventually her eyes landed back on him.
“So you’re my boss?” she asked.
Gabriel sat in the chair opposite her. “Yes I am.”
“Then why were you holding me like that?” she asked.
“You fainted. I was worried about you,” he said. He’d decided to keep the whole Hawkmoth thing a secret from her for the time being. She wouldn’t be able to handle that yet. He still had yet to determine how much of her memory had gone.
“Um, so what’s my name?”
He groaned internally. Of course she’d lose all her memory. Just his luck.
“Your name is Nathalie Sancoeur,” he said.
Her nose wrinkled at that. “You’re joking right? Nathalie the heartless? The heartless Christmas? That makes no sense.”
Gabriel walked over to her desk and brought back her wallet with her ID. “Do you believe me now?”
“It’s still a dumb name,” she muttered.
He dragged a hand down his face. What to do? Without Ladybug’s Lucky Charm they couldn’t undo this. Ladybug didn’t even know what happened because it had just been an experiment. What if he--
The door burst open.
“Where’s Nathalie? Did something happen to her? She was supposed to pick me--” Adrien’s eyes landed on Nathalie, his face relaxing into a smile when he saw her. “Oh good. You’re here. I was worried when you weren’t at school and you weren’t answering your phone.”
Nathalie stared at his face a moment longer then looked at Gabriel.
“This is Adrien, my son,” he said.
“Why do you have to tell her that? She’s been working here for the past eight years,” Adrien said.
“There was an incident,” Gabriel said. Adrien looked worried. It wasn’t as if he could hide her memory loss. “Nathalie was out and got akumatized. I’m not sure what happened because now she can’t remember anything.”
Adrien’s eyes widened. “We have to find the akuma.”
Gabriel waved his hand. “That’s already been dealt with.”
Adrien looked confused. “Then why isn’t she back to normal?”
“That’s what I would like to know.”
“Um, excuse me but what’s akumatize?” Nathalie asked.
“I’ll explain that to you later,” Gabriel said. “We need to figure out what to do with you for the time being until we can figure out how to get your memory back.”
“She should stay here,” Adrien said.
“Yes, that might be the best option.”
“I don’t live here?” she asked.
“No, you work here.”
She looked confused. “I work in your house.”
“Father doesn’t like leaving the house much,” Adrien said.
“Oh, so he’s a recluse,” Nathalie said. Adrien hid a smile while Gabriel massaged his temples.
“It’s called Sensory Processing Disorder,” Gabriel said.
Nathalie nodded. “Oh, I understand now.”
“Why was that the easiest thing to explain?” Gabriel asked.
“Father, what if I go show Nathalie around and have dinner while you try to contact Ladybug?” Adrien asked. "She might be able to find a way to help Nathalie."
Gabriel stood. “Yes. Do that.”